Delphi lays off employees to adjust to General Motors strike

Tuesday

Sep 25, 2007 at 12:01 AMSep 25, 2007 at 3:19 PM

Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. is temporarily laying off workers at its Adrian, Mich., plant, although an exact number hasn’t been released. The layoffs come as a result of the United Auto Workers union’s strike against General Motors Corp.

Megan Miller

Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. is temporarily laying off workers at its Adrian, Mich., plant, although an exact number hasn’t been released.

The layoffs come as a result of the United Auto Workers union’s strike against General Motors Corp.

Melissa Rogers, president of UAW Local 2031, said the number of people laid off and the amount of time they will be idled will be determined by how long the strike at GM lasts. As long as GM isn’t operating, she said, there is no one to ship products to.

Rogers said production is being reduced, and the plant is cutting employees but will maintain skilled workers, a maintenance crew and a skeleton crew on the day shifts.

He added that not all plants are affected by the strike — just ones that solely supply GM products.

“We are immediately starting to alter our staffing,” Williams said. Adjustments are being made according to volume reductions, he said, and the volume is linked to the situation at GM.

The strike is presenting challenges for GM suppliers, many of which, including Delphi, have struggled with bankruptcies and increased competition in recent years.

The impact will largely depend on the length of the work stoppage and the degree of the individual companies’ ties to GM. But analysts said it will quickly ripple through the industry.

“Every car that’s not built means there’s 10,000 components that don’t get sold and don’t get put on the car,” said Neil De Koker, president of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, an industry trade group.

Contributing: Adrian (Mich.) Daily Telegram, AP

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